Touched
by Nanashi911
Summary: Syaoran's power is growing out of control and the only one who can help him is Eriol, but at what cost? Tragedy. ESy. Shounen-ai.


This story is inspired by the song "Touched" by Vast. It's just to show how Syaoran's life was touched by Eriol's..literally hehe. It's a tragedy really. 

**

"TOUCHED"  
By: Nanashi

****_

touched  
you say that i am too  
so much of what you say is true

_**

"What's that supposed to mean Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran said, eyebrows crinkled to accentuate his frown. 

Eriol smiled sadly, it had been meant as a compliment but Syaoran was always so defensive and untrusting. 

"I'm not speaking in riddles this time Li-kun..it's just..you are destined to become something great, but before you can you must control the power growing inside you." Eriol elaborated. 

"A little late for prophecy, after all Sakura is the card mistress now." Syaoran huffed, though he knew deep down he was making a bigger deal out the situation than it really was. 

"You don't need cards to be a great sorcerer. Clow didn't start out that way after all." Eriol replied stoically with some impatience. 

A silence fell between them. 

**_I'll never find someone  
quite like you  
again  
I'll never find someone  
quite like you_**

****

"Let's continue this on some other occasion, I have better ways of wasting my time." Syaoran said finally, setting his cup of tea down and standing. 

He walked briskly towards the front door of the Hiiragizawa Mansion. Eriol walked quickly behind him trying to match his urgent speed. 

"It's important I told you this now, Li-kun! There will be a shift in power inside you soon! Unsteady and dangerous!" Eriol called after him, his voice almost cracking with desperation. 

"Tell me something I don't know!" Syaoran spat with a last burning look before swinging open the door, lunging himself out, and slamming it shut. 

Eriol watched Syaoran's intense angry aura fade into the air. A small smile touched his face. His descendant was a powerful firecracker ready to burst, but would he know what to do when the time came? Eriol knew what he had to do, but would it be enough for Syaoran to understand? He didn't want it to go down this road but it had to be done. 

**_the razors and the dying roses  
plead i don't leave you alone  
the demigods and  
hungry ghosts  
God, God knows I'm not at home_**

****

Upstairs, Eriol walked by the drying roses hung upside down in his spacious, elegant bathroom. He stared at them thoughtfully, giving the razor in his hand a slight squeeze. /It's amazing though dead and hung, the roses don't lose their beauty.../ he thought to himself. 

Sitting by the edge of the porcelain bathtub, Eriol watched his blood drip quickly down his wrists. The razor fell into the tub with a clank.  
In a daze, unsure of whether his mind was clouded with the loss of blood or not, Eriol saw Clow appear to him in a ghostly fashion. Eriol smiled at the apparition as he steadied himself to prevent from fainting. 

"Did you foresee this Clow? Is this the only way to teach him?" Eriol questioned sadly. 

The apparition looked away, his eyes closed as if ashamed. 

"You knew I would not hesitate..that I would do anything to help him..because I love him. Because I could see into his future and know what would happen if I didn't." Eriol said aloud..with much effort, his strength leaving him. 

"But I can't see the future now..it's clouded..I can't see much of anything anymore..I only hope," he whispered to himself sadly "That he will realize..." 

**_I'll never find someone  
quite like you  
again  
I'll never find someone  
quite like you  
again_**

****

Syaoran never made it home. Instead he was sitting on an empty swing by the penguin slide where he used to frequent when he was much younger chasing Clow cards. He was lost in thought. Did Eriol really know what had been happening to him lately? Or was he just peeking into his mind like he used to do. Ever since the spectacled boy returned to Japan Syaoran's emotions had run intensely. If he was angry he was furious. If he was happy he was euphoric. One time he nearly struck Sakura when something she said angered him. He didn't mean it, at least he didn't think so, it had happened like a reflex. A horrified Tomoyo had witnessed the scene and so did a disappointed Eriol. He was lucky Touya hadn't been there, but the incident had left an impression on him that worried him. What was going on inside him? He knew Clow Reed's blood was strong within him, through years of selective and careful breeding the Li Clan had produced a powerful heir. Syaoran thought his failure at mastering the cards had meant a bad omen for him, but that wasn't the case. And though Sakura was not talking to him and he hadn't seen any of the group in a long time, what worried him most was Eriol's warning. The way he had looked at him, concern in his violet-grey eyes..almost as if filled with love. A familiar kind? He didn't know but apart from all his stubbornness he knew Eriol cared for him. He was one of a kind, the only one still talking to him after the incident. The only one trying to..help? 

Before he could lose himself further in his sulking a sharp pain crossed him. It shot up from his arm to the very temples of his head. Syaoran clutched at himself in agony. It felt as if the life was draining out of him, but he realized he was perfectly fine. He was feeling someone else's pain..someone very very close. 

As if the gods were screaming in his ears he knew instantly who it was. But how could that be possible he had just been with him just a few minutes ago? Without a second thought he fought the pain and sped off in the direction he had just come from. 

**_i looked into your eyes and  
saw a world that does not exist  
i looked into your eyes and  
saw a world i wish i was in_**

****

"HIIRAGIZAWA!" Syaoran screeched in a panicked tone he never thought he was capable of. 

In a corner of the room leaning over his bathtub in a slump, Eriol lifted his head a smile of relief and recognition on his face. 

Syaoran leapt to his side and supported him, his breathing still uncalmed despite the fact he was no longer running. "What the hell is happening?" 

Eriol locked his eyes with Syaoran's it was the first time the wolf had ever held any concern for his ancestor's reincarnation. He wanted to take the moment and hold it in his hands forever. Instead he half flicked his head towards the bathtub where his blood had collected carefully. 

"As the descendant of the Clow line, you hold part of my soul and I hold part of yours. Back then you didn't let me finish what I needed to tell you..so now I have to show you.." 

After he finished his struggled sentence the blood in the tub formed into a large sphere and began to glow a radiant blue. Under the two figures Clow's circle began to glow. 

"To separate himself and be reborn into two people Clow had to die, and now to help you, I too must die." Eriol whispered then coughed. The orb floated towards them. 

"I don't understand!" Syaoran yelled disbelieving of what he was hearing. 

"I saw into your future, the incident before with Sakura was nothing compared to the destruction that would have come to pass. I knew nobody else could help you but me, so I returned to Japan to see for myself how much the power inside you had progressed. Clow knew someone was going to acquire the cards. Sakura skillfully trained herself with my help despite her ignorance of what was going on. It is part of the reason the cards chose her. She was magically stable. Even though it should have been you..I think Clow knew what was going to happen with the heir of the Li Clan and, therefore, chose an alternate." Eriol coughed, blood cornering his lips. 

"Are you saying I'm evil, is that it?" Syaoran asked trying to stop the blood flowing from Eriol's gashes. 

Eriol smiled at his fruitless attempts, "No..there is a balance to the world, like Yin and Yang. For every creation there must be a destruction. Sakura holds the power to change the world for the better and she is armed with the cards to do it. You.." 

He looked away, "You are the other side to that power. But not anymore, I wont let it happen. I'll protect you. I'll merge my soul with yours and help you balance that power within you so you can help Sakura protect this world." 

The orb above them grew in size and strength a wind engulfed the two sorcerers. 

"Eriol STOP this! There must be another way!" Syaoran yelled desperately. 

Eriol's eyes widened for a moment it was the first time Syaoran had used his given name, his heart fluttered from both excitement and struggle. He shook his head. 

"The only other way was for you and I to..umm.." If he had blood left in his body he would have blushed, "for you to accept me as..for our essences to.." 

Eriol did not finish his body shook intensely, the blood pouring down his wrists was slowing down, but not from healing over. 

Syaoran held him tightly until it passed, Eriol lay limp in his arms. He lifted the lids from his eyes with effort. 

"Use my power well..Syaoran. Remember I'm a part of you now." 

Eriol gave his hand a small squeeze, then before Syaoran could react a blinding light filled the room and for a moment the world went blank. 

"I'm ready to go now..Clow." Eriol's voice echoed in the silence, now that he had heard his name on Syaoran's lips he could go in peace. 

Syaoran sat up some time later, in an empty, spotless bathroom. Had it all been a dream? No..he didn't feel the same way, he knew something inside of him changed. He no longer felt confused and lost like he did before; now the only thing bothering him was what had just happened. Did Eriol really? Was he really... Something told him he knew the answer to that. But why? He still didn't explain why he chose this way to do things. Then he heard it, as if his conscience had sprung a voice of his own, a familiar one..and it answered his question finally. 

**_"I'll never find someone  
quite as touched as you  
I'll never love someone  
quite the way  
that i loved you"_**


End file.
